Basil pesto made into a beautiful creamy sauce with pasta and sun-dried tomatoes! What could be better?!
Give it a go, you won't be disappointed! Absolutely perfect recipe for a Mad Monday if you are looking for a very quick and easy meal to make. Gotta love having a Thermomix for those frantic evenings when the kids want dinner NOW!
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ThermoFun - Basil & Sun-dried Tomato Pasta Recipe
Ingredients
- generous handful fresh basil leaves
- 60g parmesan cheese, cubed
- 75g raw nuts (pine nuts/cashews/macadamia or a combination)
- 4 rashers short cut bacon, quartered
- 125g sun-dried tomatoes
- 250g thickened cream
- 350g penne pasta
- 450g boiling water from kettle
To serve
- pitted kalamata olives
- crumbled feta
Instructions
- Place basil (reserve a few leaves for garnish), parmesan and nuts into TM bowl and chop 3 sec / speed 8.
- Add bacon and sun-dried tomatoes and chop 4 sec / speed 5. Scrape down.
- Add cream and cook 2 mins / 100°C / speed soft / Reverse.
- Add pasta and boiling water and cook 12 mins / 100°C / speed soft / Reverse (refer to recommended cooking time on pasta packet).
- To serve, top with olives, feta and garnish with basil leaves.
Notes
If you have some pre cooked shredded chicken stir through when pasta has finished cooking (the hot pasta will be enough to warm the meat through).
The sauce works well with steamed chicken.
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If you have enjoyed this recipe then please consider leaving a comment. It’s always refreshing to see comments from people that have tried a recipe and found it a success or tweaked it to suit.
Karen Hughes says
I wanted to have pasta for dinner but not spag bol, so checked tried and true Thermofun and came across this recipe. I thought I’d try it for something a bit different as it sounded good. I only made the sauce to Step 3 as I had cooked pasta already in the fridge. During the last minute or two, I added some chopped salami that I had leftover from pizza and it was a really tasty and easy sauce to make! 👍
thermofun says
Fabulous to hear Karen!
Lesley says
Yum! This will be on regular rotation in our house. Thanks for another winner recipe, Leonie!!
thermofun says
Thank you for your comment Lesley. Lovely to hear. :)
Hannah says
Is there anything I’d need to do differently, if I was just making the sauce, without the pasta? Thanks!
thermofun says
Hannah, maybe at step 3 just cook cream etc for about 4 mins. Enjoy!
Lili says
Oh my I just made this and it was almost black... nothing like your delicious picture, do you have any idea why?
thermofun says
oh no! :( Sorry I don't have any idea! Wondering though was your basil fresh or frozen as it can go black when it's frozen.
Jill Ford says
Another favourite for us. Quick and easy, always a hit.
thermofun says
Thanks Jill. I love quick and easy recipes too! :)
Kylie says
Have made this a few times now and always a hit! Can't go wrong with it. I added in some cooked chicken for extra protein. :-)
thermofun says
Pleased you enjoyed it Kylie - yes we love it with chicken as well if I have some on hand. :)
Liz says
Hubby made this for dinner tonight and it was very nice! He tweaked it a bit, adding a couple of chillies and some shallots in step 1 and substituting plain yoghurt for the cream. We will definitely be making this again.
thermofun says
Love to hear of the "blokes" getting into the kitchen to cook. I think I might have to try those tweaks to Liz!
Kylie says
Yum and so easy to make! I used spelt pasta and added chicken to the mixture after cooking too.
chezford says
Made this tonight. Was similar to the Salami pasta in EDC. But different to become another favourite in our house and one you could serve up to guests. Yum :)
thermofun says
Hi Chezford, Thanks for letting us know, it is certainly an easy one to become a family favourite! And also so versatile to spice up when needed.
Andrea says
To make this a vegetarian option, what could I replace the bacon with?
thermofun says
Andrea - the bacon does make it very yummy - however I think it would still be very nice if you just left it out.
Kirsty says
Love this variation Leonie! Great work. xx